Yorkshire firm breaks new tech boundaries with voice comms product

A Yorkshire tech firm has become one of the first UK companies to utilise Web RTC (Real Time Communications) to power a new commercial voice product.

Web RTC has helped brands such as Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp build billion dollar companies thanks to their ability to provide high quality voice and video services to consumers. But recognising a gap in the market for businesses to make secure, encrypted voice calls using the same technology – from any device, anywhere in the world – Vapour began exploring the possibilities for commercial users.

Eight months later the result is Höllr – a voice communication application built for channel partners and businesses alike. Delivered via the backbone of Vapour’s secure UK network, its features remove the barriers of time, format and location, to achieve a new generation of conversation clarity. Calls can also be recorded and reported on, for organisations that rely on data-driven decision making.

Commenting on the reasons for this latest innovation, Vapour’s CEO Tim Mercer said: “Voice communications is changing, in terms of how we consume it, the expectations we place on it, and the potential it has to transform our businesses.

“Consumer tech brands have really capitalised on this, and the use of Web RTC has been inspiring in this respect. But in the commercial market, organisations have continued to be plagued by the limitations of solutions like VoIP. Voice over Internet Protocol is actually rich in potential but it has been delivered by traditional suppliers that don’t truly understand the technology involved. As a result, products such as Skype – which could have revolutionised how companies communicated –have been met with little but frustration in the corporate environment.”

Höllr is designed to support businesses looking to drive down the cost of voice calls, thanks to OPEX-friendly cloud models and low-fee monthly contracts charged on a cost-per-user basis. It also supports a truly mobile and geographically diverse workforce, and enables the assimilation of many wider features including call redirection, CRM integration and one-click disaster recovery.

“Following an extensive period of beta testing, Höllr is already being used by some of our clients, including Pure Technology Group, Incident Support Group and chartered surveyors Wainwright & Co. And there’s even more to come from this platform as our Innovation & Disruption event in October will reveal.”

The launch of Höllr comes hot on the heels of another recent tech release from Vapour – Dfendr. The secure cloud platform hit the headlines at the start of summer, when it was revealed that more than a quarter of a million pounds had been ploughed into the development of a new resilient, GDPR-compliant network infrastructure, for organisations’ data.